An electric motor may feature a rotor with permanent magnets and a stator, such as an interior permanent magnet (IPM) motor or an IPM synchronous motor. Application of the motor to a vehicle traction often requires a wide speed range of motor control. Although, to some extent, motor control performance can be increased with an increase in pulse width modulation switching frequency provided by the inverter, an excessively high switching frequency increases inverter switching losses, reduces inverter life from thermal impact, and increases the data processing burden of the data processor or digital signal processor within the inverter. Thus, there is a need for a method and system for controlling an electric motor with a wide varying operating speed such that a balanced or optimum pulse width modulation frequency is selected for the inverter.